Jefferies Financial Group Inc. $JEF Shares Bought by Ieq Capital LLC

Key Points

• Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in Jefferies Financial Group by 278.9% in Q1, acquiring an additional 10,084 shares, bringing its total to 13,700 shares valued at $734,000.
• Several institutional investors have also expanded their positions in JEF, with Elequin Capital LP increasing its holdings by 117.9%, now owning 549 shares valued at $29,000.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings for Jefferies Financial Group, with price targets ranging from $54.00 to $66.00, while its stock currently trades around $64.19.

Ieq Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Jefferies Financial Group Inc. (NYSE:JEF - Free Report) by 278.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,700 shares of the financial services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 10,084 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC's holdings in Jefferies Financial Group were worth $734,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Elequin Capital LP grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 117.9% during the 1st quarter. Elequin Capital LP now owns 549 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 193.8% during the 1st quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 705 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 123.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,151 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 637 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Jefferies Financial Group by 87.9% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,387 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 649 shares during the period. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S acquired a new stake in shares of Jefferies Financial Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. 60.88% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Jefferies Financial Group Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of Jefferies Financial Group stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.47. 1,504,573 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,417,672. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.28 and a 1 year high of $82.68. The stock's fifty day moving average is $58.87 and its 200 day moving average is $54.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.95 and a beta of 1.49.

Jefferies Financial Group (NYSE:JEF - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 25th. The financial services provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.44 by ($0.04). Jefferies Financial Group had a return on equity of 6.59% and a net margin of 7.70%.The firm had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.64 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Jefferies Financial Group Inc. will post 4.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Jefferies Financial Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 29th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 18th. This represents a $1.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Jefferies Financial Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on JEF shares. Wall Street Zen cut Jefferies Financial Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded Jefferies Financial Group from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $54.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Jefferies Financial Group from $55.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.00.

About Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group Inc operates as an investment banking and capital markets firm in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, and the Asia-Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Investment Banking and Capital Markets, and Asset Management. It provides investment banking, advisory services with respect to mergers or acquisitions, debt financing, restructurings or recapitalizations, and private capital advisory transactions; underwriting and placement services related to corporate debt, municipal bonds, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, equity and equity-linked securities, and loan syndication services; and corporate lending services.